Golf training device

ABSTRACT

A golf training device or aid for golfers designed to develop proper swing and to overcome sway, comprising a flexible cord with a strap for attaching one end of the cord to the wrist of the golfer, a strap for attaching the cord to the corresponding leg of the golfer, a clamp for adjusting the length of the cord to suit the golfer, and interlocked strips of a product sold under the trademark &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;Velcro&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; fixed to the cord at intermediate, longitudinally spaced points along the cord and, which, when pulled apart, produce an audible signal upon incorrect arm and body movements of the golfer.

United States Patent [151 80,869 Brady 1 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] GOLF TRAINING DEVICE Primary ExaminerGeorge J. Marlo [72] Inventor: Joseph P. Brady, l0 Hillcrest Lane, Attorney-Harry Glemser Galllpolis, Ohio 45631 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: 1971 A golf training device or aid for golfers designed to [21] Appl. No.: 168,618 develop proper swing and to overcome sway, comprising a flexible cord with a strap for attaching one end [52] U S 273/183 B 273,189 R 273/188 A of the cord to the wrist of the golfer, a strap for at- [51] Int. Cl. ..A63b 69/36 [58] Field of Search ..273/183, 188, 189,190, 191, 273/192, 186

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,077,318 4/1937 Goodman ..273/190 B 2,498,006 2/1950 RidilL; ..273/ 189 R 2,442,513 5/1969 Fisher ..273/190 R X taching the cord to the corresponding leg of the golfer, a clamp for adjusting the length of the cord to suit the golfer, and interlocked strips of a product sold under the trademark Velcro fixed to the cord at intermediate, longitudinally spaced points along the cord and, which, when pulled apart, produce an audible signal upon incorrect arm and body movements of the golfer.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED M15 1 i972 T0 WR/S T 57pm: BUCKLE T0 6 STEHP BUCKLE /NVE/YTOR JOSEPH P Emmy Fl 7 TOFNE Y5 1 GOLF TRAINING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a golf practice training device or aid, and more particularly to a device to be used by golfers to teach themselves to shift their weight from one foot to the other foot just prior to commencing a downswing and to teach the golfer to pivot and avoid body sway during an upswing.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Various devices have been heretofore proposed to aid golfers to improve their form, swing, etc., including mechanical restraining devices, which are awkward to use; elastic devices which tend to impose an unnatural force on the left arm of the golfer; a guide attached to the golfers waist to guide the right arm, etc., all of such devices tending to mechanically guide the golfers swing and body movements; and while they may be more or less effective while worn, they are encumbering and not .conducive to developing a natural swing that can beeffortlessly and consistently continued in play without their use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Nylon, one end of which is fixed to the buckle of a strap to be fastened to the wrist of the golfer. Another strap is fastened around the corresponding leg of the golfer above the knee and the cord is threaded through the buckle of such strap to form a loop and its free end is adjustably fastened by a clamp to the cord at the proper point to suit the height and am length of the particular golfer.

Two strips of Velcro are sewn to the cord at longitudinally spaced points and are pressed together forming a second loop. The adjustment of the cord is such that the Velcro" strips start to separate, producing an audible signal, at the time that the golfer reaches the top of his backswing. The audible signal warns the golfer that he has raised his arms high enough and that he should commence the downswing. If the downswing is correctly executed with the shifting of weight from one foot to the other, the Velcro strips will separate producing an audible signal; otherwise they will not separate, indicating to the golfer that he has not performed a correct downswing. The Velcro strips are pressed together and the practice swing repeated as often as desired.

Accordingly, the principal object of the invention is to provide a simple golf practice or training device that will aid a golfer to develop a natural swing and body motion that can be effortlessly continued subsequently without the use of the training aid.

A more specific object is to provide a device that will enable a golfer to perfect a backswing without body sway, and to perfect a downswing with proper weight shifting.

Another object is to provide a golf training device that can be'used either left-handed or right-handed golfers, and which can be adjusted for use by all golfers, regardless of their height and arm length.

Another object is to provide a golf training device that can be adjusted by the golfer himself to fit his own particular physical characteristics, and which can be used by the golfer to teach himself to overcome faults in swing and body motion. 1

A further object is to provide a device that will audibly warn the golfer when 'he has raised his arms high enough in a backswing, and also issue a warning if he has not correctly shifted his weight during the downswing.

A still further object is to provide a golf training aid that will teach a golfer to avoid side sway during a backswing.

Still another object is to provide a golf training device that can be cheaply and inexpensively made.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the present golf training aid as it would normally be used by a golfer.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the golf training device particularly showing the manner in which the Velcro strips are attached to the cord, and the clamp for adjustably clamping the free end of the cord in position to suit the height and arm length of the golfer.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the Velcro strips associated with a safety pin that is temporarily used to hold the strips together while determining the correct position of adjustment of the cord clamp.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which the golf training aid can be used by the golfer to overcome side sway during a backswing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The golf training device consists of a very few simple parts, namely; a length of flexible, non-stretchable material, such as Nylon cord 2 about 7 ft. long; a wrist strap 4 having a buckle 6 to which one end 8 of the cord 2 is attached; a leg strap 10 having a buckle 12 through which the other end 14 of the cord 2 is threaded; an adjustable clamp 16 for securing the free end 14 of the cord 2 in properly adjusted position; two matching strips of Velcro 18 and 20, each strip being about three-fourths inch wide and about 2 /2 inch long and having a tapered end 22 and a squared end 24; and a safety pin 26 that is temporarily used to hold the Velcro strips 18 and 20 together, while the length of the cord 2 is adjusted to suit the particular golfer, as will be explained later.

The Velcro strip 18 is permanently secured to the cord 2 at a point about 12 inches from the end 8 of the cord, by stitches 28. The strip of Velcro 20 is similarly secured to the cord 2 by stitches 30 at a point about 36 inches from the Velcro strip 18. Upon pressing the strips 18 and 20 together, the portion of the cord between the strips forms a slack loop 32.

The free end 14 of the cord 2 can be knotted or may have a piece of plastic secured thereto to prevent it from slipping out of the clamp 16. The clamp 16 comprises a body 34 including a U-shaped portion 36 and a threaded transverse portion 38, in which a clamp screw 40 is mounted. The cord 2 is threaded through the U- shaped portion 36 of the clamp and passed through the buckle 12 of the leg strap and the free end 14 is then passed back through the U-shaped portion 36 of the clamp. Tightening of the screw 40 will hold the end 14 of the cord 2 in any desired position, forming a second loop 42 positioned between the clamp 16 and the buckle l2.

In using the above described training aid, the wrist strap 4 is fastened around the left wrist of the golfer (in the case of a right hand golfer) with the buckle 6 at the back part of the wrist and with the free end of the strap directed toward the little finger side of the left hand. The strap 10 is placed around the corresponding (left) leg just above the knee, the buckle 12 being on the front side of the leg and with the free end of the strap 10 directed toward the inner side of the leg. The cord 2 is thus suspended between the buckle 6 of the wrist strap 4 and the buckle 12 of the leg strap 10. The end 8 of the cord 2 is permanently tied to the buckle 8, while at the leg end of the cord 2, it passes freely through the buckle 12. The free end 14 of the cord 2 is passed through the clamp 16 to form the loop 42, as previously described. The length of this loop will vary according to the'height and arm length of the golfer using the device, so that proper individual adjustment can be readily attained.

In order to effect proper adjustment of the present device, the straps 4 and 10 are applied to the wrist and leg, as described above. The two strips 18 and 20 of Velcro" are positioned with their tapered ends 22 and their square ends 24 matching, as shown in FIG. 2. The safety pin 26 is then passed through both strips at a point about three-fourths inch back from the tapered ends 22 and across the axis of the cord 2, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The tapered ends 22 of the strips 18 and 20 are then separated back to the pin 26. The adjustable clamp 16 is then moved along the cord 2 to a position adjacent the strip 20. The end 14 of the cord 2 is positioned adjacent to the clamp 16. The screw 40 is tightened sufficiently to firmly hold both sections of the cord forming the loop 42.

The cord 2 is held at the strip 20 with the thumb and index finger of the left hand. A steady upward pull is then exerted on the leg cord by the right hand while the left hand gradually loosens the clamp 16 until the clamp slides smoothly down the cord. The screw 40 is then adjusted so that it imposes a slight drag on the cord, and so that it will not move without an upward pull being exerted. After such adjustment has been made, the clamp 16 is moved back to a position adjacent to the strip 20. The golfer then takes a backswing, stopping at the top of the swing. This will slide the clamp 16 down along the cord 2 to a distance proportional to the backswing. The screw 40 is then tightened, thereby completing the adjustment of the cord 2 to suit the backswing of the golfer. The safety pin 26 is then removed from the strips 18 and 20.

In order to use the device in practice, the golfer positions the strips 18 and 20 together with their tapered ends 22 and squared ends 24 matching. Since the above described adjustment was made with approximately a inch separation of the tapered ends, 22, a repetition of the backswing will produce this separation at the time that the arms of the golfer reach the top position for the backswing. The '3 inch separation of the strips 18 and 20 will produce a tearing sound serving as an audible signal to the golfer to indicate that he has reached the top of the backswing stroke.

When the golfer initiates the downswing and shifts his weight from the right foot to the left foot, the left knee is moved back toward its initial position at the time the golfer first addressed the ball. This causes further and complete separation of the strips 18 and 20, which will also produce a signal audible to the golfer. Such separation is permitted because the length of the cord 2 from the wrist to the leg is greater, due to the loop 32, than the actual distance between these points at the time the cord 2 was adjusted. When, however, the downswing is not initiated by the weight shift, the further separation of the strips 18 and 20 does not occur, and the golfer receives no audible signal, thereby indicating that he failed to make the proper weight shift during the downswing. The above-described procedure can be repeated by fastening the strips 18 and 20 together again and performing the backswing and downswing strokes until the golfer learns to automatically shift weight from the right foot to the left foot.

In order to use the present device to overcome swaying, and to enable the golfer to practice pivoting at the waist on the backswing without swaying of his body as a whole away from the ball, the leg strap 10 is applied to the leg just above the right knee with the buckle 12 on the inner side of the leg, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The cord 2 is carried to the left behind the left knee, and the wrist strap 4 is anchored to a stake 44 if practice is being conducted outdoors, or to a heavy object such as the leg of a chair, table, etc. The strips 18 and 20 are pressed together, and the golfer moves to the right until all slack has been removed from the cord 2 and the strips are heard to separate slightly. With the device in this position, the golfer takes his practice swing. When he accomplishes a backswing without sway, no further separation of the strips 18 and 20 will take place, so that no further signal is produced. On the other hand, any sway of the body toward the right will cause a definite separation of the strips 18 and 20 producing an audible signal warning the golfer that he has committed an improper body movement.

It will be apparent that standard lengths of the flexible member 2 can be determined for use by golfers of a given height and given arm length so that the clamp 16 and the adjustment provided thereby can be omitted, and that, in such case, the opposite ends of the cord would be fastened to the wrist and leg straps. This would enable the use of a shorter cord, and also eliminate the need for adjustment in the case of a golfer obtaining the correct cord length. Some leeway can be introduced in a standard" cord by makine one of the strips 18 or 20 adjustably clampable on the cord 2. In such instance, the loop 32 would provide means for increasing or decreasing the overall length of the cord between the straps 4 and 12, within reasonable limits.

Thus, it will be seen that the present golf practice device can be used for self-training by any golfer to perfect body weight shifting for a correct downswing, and can also be used to train the golfer to avoid body sway during either upswing or downswing.

It will be understood that the training device disclosed herein can be used equally well by right-handed andleft-handed golfers. Accordingly, although the device has been described hereinabove as attached to the left wrist and corresponding or left leg of a golfer, it is to be understood that the work left as used herein, is to be construed as including the right wrist and right leg; and that the word left, as used in the accompanying claims, can be construed to mean right.

It will be further understood that various changes may be made in the arrangement, design, and construction of the parts described above, without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A training device for golfers, comprising: an elongated flexible member; means for attaching one portion of said member to the left wrist of a golfer; means for attaching another portion of said member to the left leg of a golfer at a point above the knee, said member being of substantially greater length than the distance. between said left wrist and the point of attachment to said left leg of the golfer, during a backswing; and

separable means maintaining the excess length of said member in the form of a slack loop and being adapted to be pulled apart upon the golfer raising his left wrist higher than required for a proper backswing, or to be pulled apart if the golfer properly shifts his weight from the right foot to the left foot during a downswing.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the flexible member is a non-stretchable cord.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, in which the separable members forming the loop in the flexible member are interlocked pieces of Velcro" attached to the cord at spaced points along the length of the cord.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the separable members forming the loop in the flexible member include means that produces an audible signal during separation of said members.

5. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the separable members forming the loop in the flexible member are permanently secured to the flexible member at points spaced lengthwise along said flexible member.

6. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the means for attaching the flexible member to the golfers wrist is an adjustable strap.

7. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the means for attaching the flexible member to the golfers leg is an adjustable strap.

8. A device as defined in claim 7, in which the strap has a buckle, and wherein the flexible member has a free end threaded through the buckle.

9. A device as defined in claim 8, in which the part of the flexible member that has been threaded through the buckle extends back along said flexible member to form an adjustable loop and is fastened at its free end to said flexible member.

10. A device as defined in claim 9, including an adjustable clamp fastening the free end of said flexible member against movement relative to the remainder of said flexible member. 

1. A training device for golfers, comprising: an elongated flexible member; means for attaching one portion of said member to the left wrist of a golfer; means for attaching another portion of said member to the left leg of a golfer at a point above the knee, said member being of substantially greater length than the distance between said left wrist and the point of attachment to said left leg of the golfer, during a backswing; and separable means maintaining the excess length of said member in the form of a slack loop and being adapted to be pulled apart upon the golfer raising his left wrist higher than required for a proper backswing, or to be pulled apart if the golfer properly shifts his weight from the right foot to the left foot during a downswing.
 2. A dEvice as defined in claim 1, in which the flexible member is a non-stretchable cord.
 3. A device as defined in claim 2, in which the separable members forming the loop in the flexible member are interlocked pieces of ''''Velcro'''' attached to the cord at spaced points along the length of the cord.
 4. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the separable members forming the loop in the flexible member include means that produces an audible signal during separation of said members.
 5. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the separable members forming the loop in the flexible member are permanently secured to the flexible member at points spaced lengthwise along said flexible member.
 6. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the means for attaching the flexible member to the golfers wrist is an adjustable strap.
 7. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the means for attaching the flexible member to the golfers leg is an adjustable strap.
 8. A device as defined in claim 7, in which the strap has a buckle, and wherein the flexible member has a free end threaded through the buckle.
 9. A device as defined in claim 8, in which the part of the flexible member that has been threaded through the buckle extends back along said flexible member to form an adjustable loop and is fastened at its free end to said flexible member.
 10. A device as defined in claim 9, including an adjustable clamp fastening the free end of said flexible member against movement relative to the remainder of said flexible member. 